Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Teaching Nonviolent Atonement

Home
Progressive Christian
Black Panther is a Better Story – The RavenCast with Melvin Bray

Black Panther is a Better Story – The RavenCast with Melvin Bray

Last updated on: March 2, 2018 at 1:33 pm by Adam Ericksen

Black Panther is a Better Story – The RavenCast with Melvin Bray 2018-03-02T13:33:54-05:00 Adam Ericksen

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In this episode of the RavenCast, I talk with Melvin Bray about the hit movie Black Panther. The movie has not only broken records at the box office, but has created many cultural conversations about racism, political power, violence, and white supremacy. Melvin and I discuss these important topics in our conversation. You can listen to the audio of our conversation on iTunes and Stitcher Radio, or you can watch the video below.

Melvin is a storyteller, author, and social entrepreneur. He is a guest speaker at conferences and is author of the book Better: Waking Up to Who We Could Be. Melvin is the principal consultant at Collabyrinth, where Melvin helps communities of goodwill design better structures and systems, policies and practices that lead to more equitable outcomes for all people. You can find more of Melvin’s work at collabyrinthconsulting.com and better.melvinbray.com.

Show Notes:

If we learn to tell more beautiful, more just, virtue filled stories, then we can live into a beautiful, more just, virtue filled world. If we don’t tell those stories, then our children have no reason to care about faith.

Wakanda is a metaphor for the Beloved Community. Wakanda gives us a metaphorical image of how we can do better and explore our obligations to the broader world.

Eric Killmonger

What’s important about Eric Killmonger? On the underside of Empire, you don’t have to be Eric Killmonger in order to be treated like Eric Killmonger. Look at the difference between Black Lives Matter kids and the Never Again Kids. Both are doing good things, but Black Lives Matter kids aren’t treated as gently. They have been demonized. Both children are saying something important, which is that their lives matter more than the gun industries ability to make money.

Killmonger is a monster. But the truth about Killmonger is that he’s a product of America.

Colonialism and Supremacist Logic

“Supremacist logic” means a notion that is never challenged that “we” are going to be on top. It will steal from other cultures and claim it as their own. This is shown in Black Panther with the scene in the museum. But there are other examples, like The Matrix and The Help were both originally written by black people, but then stolen by white people. These are examples of continued colonialism.

Supremacist Logic and the Gun Debate

The way supremacist logic frames the gun debate is “second amendment” versus “gun control.” These are basically two power factions determining who is going to be on top. There’s an old African proverb that says “When elephants fight, the grass loses.” Neither framing of the gun debate takes into account the most important part of the debate, which is a person’s right to live. Underlying the gun debate is the issue of money.

The Bible and Black Panther

Brothers versus brother are archetypal themes in Black Panther and in the Bible. These themes are less about individuals and more about archetypes of people whose goals tend to conflict over the same object. For more on the archetypal stories, you can listen to Melvin’s MP3s “The Stories in Which We Find Ourselves” at melvinbray.com/engagements. Scroll down to the ePressKit section, click on audio, and you will find samples.

How White People Can Move From Being an Ally to Being in Solidarity

Through certain characters, Black Panther models for white people how to be more beyond being an ally and move into being in solidarity with black people.

Black Panther, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X

Any comparison between T’Challa and Martin Luther King Jr or Eric Killmonger and Malcom X are based on simplistic caricatures created by supremacist logic and forces that killed both men. Malcom X never called for taking up arms. He said you should value your life so much that you are willing to defend it, but only if necessary. Malcom X was no Killmonger. Supremacist logic distorts the message of Malcom X and Martin Luther King in order to demonize one and domesticate the other.

Image: Black Panther: Screenshot from YouTube.

Stay in the loop! Like Teaching Nonviolent Atonement on Facebook!

Previous Post

February 28, 2018

Sermon: Jesus Teaches His Disciples Something Totally New

Next Post

March 5, 2018 Jesus, Whistle Blowers, and Anger Management

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement and Current Events Curriculum Faith and Families Interviews Jesus the Forgiving Victim Lent Montessori politics Reviews The Bible Explained Uncategorized Valentine's Day Wednesday Sermon Who is God?

Select a Month July 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 January 2014 December 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz